Report 2: Social Psychology of Web Architecture: What You See Is What You Get

Web Designer Principles As I See It: You Are What You Create

At glover.com, it's not just an ordinary web page. As I see it, this site consists of a lot of information stemming from personal issues to helpful hints about designing a web page. It's also entertaining and humorous. I think the main purpose of Jeffrey Glover's site is to give people some idea of the do's and don'ts of a web site. However, it's not to say that you should or shouldn't agree with it. Like he says: "create your web site however you want, regardless of what some doofus says is 'sucky' or a 'don't'!!! Good design is a matter of your personal taste and style, not someone else's!" To gain a better understanding of what it is I'm talking about, click on "Sucky To Savvy" on Jeffrey Glover's home page.

Upon entering "Sucky to Savvy", be prepared to jot down a few notes in case you might want to consider some things while constructing your own web site. After all, this site contains a list of "The Top Ten Ways to Improve your Netscape Browsing Experience", and "The Do's and Don'ts of Web Site Design." In this site, there will be a "sucky list" and a "savvy list". Each are rated with what he calls a "suck-o-meter" and a "savindicator". It's rated on a scale from one to ten. In "suck-o-meter" a ten means that it's highly not recommended and one means that it doesn't suck that much. In "savindicator", a ten means it's a must have on your page and one that it's "not that cool as you probably think it is." Now that you know this, here is what I got from the Sucky to Savvy site: (However, please feel free to skip my synopsis of Jeff Glover's web site . Just click on the underlined word in the previous sentence and it'll take ya there!)

Under the sucky list, Blink was ranked a ten. In case you don't know what this is, it refers to text that constantly blink on the page. Why does it suck? 'Cause it's annoying. Another option is to use bold or large text to emphasize.

Having loud backgrounds are strenouous on your eyes in which we're trying so hard to read the text that we can no longer see straight. If the background makes it too difficult to read your page, you can forget about me reading it. What to do? Use solid backgrounds if you have a huge amount of text(but be sure that the color of your text complements your background). Or choose a background with very little contrast.

Large image maps or the overuse of it can also deter one from entering your web site. Especially since larger images take much longer to load. One or two images are good to have but having too many images and very little text means longer waiting periods and people that browse without loading images or without images will not be able to navigate your site.

So what's under the savvy list? Well, flexible window widths are a must have! It ranked a ten on this list. Why is it recommended? This is to make life easier for your visitors so that they don't have to do a lot of scrolling around to view your online information. It makes your site easier to navigate. Most visitors expect to scroll down and not constantly scrolling from left to right. It's a lot harder to read that way.

Another important tip is to include information on how to reach you such as your email address. At least allow yourself to get some feedback. This way you can receive advice or complements about your web site. Then people can tell you what they really think!

Last but not least, the most important and extremely recommended advice is to BE UNIQUE! This is where you put your creative side to work. Choose a subject that suits your interest or that you feel others may be interested in as well. But just remember that you can't satisfy everyone. Just be yourself and do what makes you...you! Keep in mind that you are what you create.

On Jeffrey Glover's site you will also find his list of the Top Ten Ways To Tell If You Have A Sucky Home Page. Don't be offended if any of these things exist on your home page. It doesn't mean your page sucks. This list is solely based on Jeffrey Glover's opinion. You're entitled to your own opinions too! Here's a brief listing:

10) Header picture is over 50K.
9) You put up a 400K picture of yourself and you appear in the lower-left 20K.
8) Having too many pictures of your pets.
7) Obnoxius background music.
6) Use of very bad scans.
5) Ticker tape status bars.
4) Use of construction pics on your page.
3) Putting a resume as a constant plea for a job.
2) Blinking text.
1) You're on your own hot list.

For a more detailed list and examples, check out this site. Once again don't take it personal or think that your home page suck just because any of these occur on your home page. You do what you want according to your own preference. Be creative and do what you feel suits you best! Remember, if the shoe don't fit, then don't wear it!

Introduction	Web Designer Principles As I See It	Psychological Aspects to Web Design	What It's Like to Become a Web Designer	Annotated Index to Web Design	Back to the Top

Psychological Aspects to Web Design: A Bird's Eye View

I must admit that when I first began this class and took that huge first step in starting my web page, I wondered - where does psychology fit in? A couple of my friends were shocked that a computer class existed in psychology. So what's so psychological about being a web designer? Why, what, and how is it thought to be psychological? Well for information on this, check out Dr. Leon James' article: Social Psychological Principles of Home Page Architecture. This pretty much answered my question. Well, at least the paragraph that states the psychological characteristics of links. Why do people put links?, what is created through these links?, how is it created? The other two ideas that I have chosen from Dr. James' article I think would be very resourceful. Also, when designing your home page, try looking at it from the visitor's view, whether it's clear, can your text be read, does it make sense, etc. Anyways, here's a couple ideas from the article:

1) Psychological Characteristics of Hypertext Links

According to Dr. Leon James' article, he defines a link as "a communicative act by which a member of the community transmits new information or new meaning by connecting two independent ideas which have not been related before." There are three psychological characteristics as to why such people of a cyberspace community create such links and these are: affective, cognitive, and sensorimotor.

The affective feature of links indicates their motivation. It serves as the answer to the question of WHY the link was created or what motivated the person to place a link there.

Cognitive feature is the person's argument or implication. It answers WHAT new information is created through the link. Also the new idea that is communicated by the link.

The third characteristic is the sensorimotor feature of links which leads to the location and appearance. It represents HOW the link was created, or what's the physical appearance.

Other aspects or characteristics to consider is the language and behavior of cyberspace members. These vary also depending on the individual's preference. It's interesting to consider the three characteristics of affective, cognitive, and sensorimotor features as to why, what, and how links are used.

2) Informational Content of Home Pages

The content of your home page is very important. What makes a home page transitional and easy to follow along is to be sure that it is clear, unconfusing, informative and useful. It should also be creative and entertaining so that people enjoy their visit to your 'home'. Clarity and orderliness helps prevent confusion. Try putting yourself in the visitors' shoe. How do you think visitors would react? What do you think draws their attention? Give visitors a sense of direction. In other words, make them feel comfortable in your 'home'; that is, at your home page.

3) Stylistic Features of Home Pages

The style of a home page is also important. The third idea mentioned in the article is to pay attention to the amount of time it takes for your page to load. I'm sure we want what looks good on our page and no one wants to waste precious time waiting for a page to load. I would have to agree with Dr. James that anything more than ten seconds is too long to wait. To reduce loading time, keep a copy of the background in your directory or choose a background that loads quickly. The same would go for icons. Look at the K value on the file when you copy or download it. But to suit those visitors that are simply impatient, arrange it so that some of the text gets loaded first and while the rest is loading, visitors won't have to waste any of their precious time.

Another thing, try to keep your links close together (though not too close!) just to avoid wasting screen area. Try not to force your visitors to keep scrolling down unless it's an unavoidable situation like reports. The main purpose that links serve is to be useful in navigation for cybernauts in cyberspace!

Introduction	Web Designer Principles As I See It	Psychological Aspects to Web Design	What It's Like to Become a Web Designer	Annotated Index to Web Design	Back to the Top

What It's Like to Become a Web Designer: Living and Learning

There's a lot more ahead of me, a lot more to learn about this computerized society. With the rapid development of technology or the "tools" of technology, it's hard to keep up! My advice for G6 generation and other generations to follow is don't stress it. Don't be afraid to ask for help or admit that you're lost or confused. There's always someone, a fellow classmate, or instructor to help you out. As it's frequently advised, try not to procrastinate. You can expect to spend endless hours on the computer. The beginning of the class may seem like the pits but whatever you do -- DON'T GIVE UP!! The end will be very rewarding and you'll be glad you stuck it through. Sure, I've had my share of frustrations and temptations to give up, but once I got through the first report, everything else came easy. It just takes a lot of time. Another advice is that if you can't meet the lab times, you might want to consider getting hooked up with another local internet service. One that I chose was LAVANET. This made ftp-ing soooo much easier, not only that, but access to uhunix was also fast and easy. No more waiting or busy lines and no time limit. I'm sure there are lots of other local servers but based on my experience with LAVANET, things were a lot more simpler. (For information about LavaNet click on anyone of the 'LavaNet' that's mentioned above.) For those of you that just simply hate computers and/or 'surfing the net', I don't think this class is for you. Just a simple note: I know a lot more about designing web pages now than I did before and I've learned to become 'friends' with computers! Last but not least, a simple word of advice for Dr. Leon James: I think it would be really helpful if you're there during the class lab times. Or maybe you might want to consider having a teaching assistant or some other lab monitor around who knows what this class is about and can help. We just found it difficult at times when we came across problems and couldn't answer each other's questions. Other than that, I found this class very resourceful and rewarding!!!

Introduction	Web Designer Principles As I See It	Psychological Aspects to Web Design	What It's Like to Become a Web Designer	Annotated Index to Web Design	Back to the Top

Annotated Index to Web Design: FYI (For Your Information)

I searched the internet through infoseek to find sites that give helpful hints about web designing and Yahoo to find articles about the psychological forces in web design. Upon searching through these I found a couple articles and sites you should check out. These are really resourceful in designing your web page and in understanding the role psychology plays while constructing our web page. Although Jeffrey Glover's may have given you some tips, I think these sites would help you out a lot more! Some take you on a step-step-basis in learning what HTML is all about. While articles written by others give you information from a psychological aspect. But don't forget to visit my instructor's home page as well. He's got a lot more to offer at his site as well. Just click HERE to get there. And to check out other articles and sites I've found, just click on any one of the following titles:

THE WEB SHACK
Here you will be shown "how to build a web site" and "where to get the information and stuff to build it." Although there's a lot of hints, tips, information or whatever it takes to build a web page to consume, this site took a different approach by presenting you with a list of links that will provide you with everything you need to create a spectacular web site. ENJOY!!!

HTML HELP
Under this site, you'll be given lots of opportunities to learn more about HTML in depth. There'll be helpful guidelines, you'll be introduced to several news groups that's related to HTML, it also tells you about graphics, as well as search engines. Check it out!

THE PSYCHOLOGY OF CYBERSPACE
I think you'll find this article pretty interesting. This article was presented by Dr. John Suler, Department of Psychology at Rider University. Within his article, he mentions that "it(referring to computers and online networks) is intended as an evolving conceptual framework for understanding the variou psychological components of cyberspace and how people react to and behave within it." Think this is interesting to find out more? Go to his article and read on!

THE PSYCHOLOGY OF WEB DESIGN
Here's a different article from a "web designer's" perspective. This was written by a student from a different university. He/she has given a few pointers about designing a web page as well.